Not Her
by LillianLuthor
Summary: Clark realizes that he's not interested in Lana anymore (pre-slash) (ClarkLex)
1. Default Chapter

Title: Not Her

Fandom: Smallville

Pairing: Clark/Lex  
Rating: PG, pre-slash  
Author: Lillian Luthor  
E-mail: isso_k@yahoo.com  
Feedback: sure, I'm a bitch for it... I'll even settle for flames if you have nothing good to say  
Archive: if you care enough to want it, you have it. just let me know, or whatever... 

Disclaimer: they're not mine, nothing this pretty has ever been mine... I'm just borrowing, in an amateur and unprofitable kind of way.

"...Clark! Earth to Clark, come in Clark!" Chloe's voice somehow managed to filter through "What? Is Lana standing behind me?" she asked with a touch of irony, obviously annoyed that he hadn't been paying attention to... well, whatever she was saying. Her monotone monologue had been going on for about an hour, so it really didn't strike him as weird that he had zoned out.

"Not, it's just Lex... he's over there" he pointed at a secluded table, where the young businessman was half-heartedly going through some obviously work-related papers "I was thinking he looks worried... maybe I should..." he began to say, not even really aware of what was coming out of his mouth until Chloe interrupted him in mid-sentence

"Oh no, Clark, you won't! This is unacceptable! Been at the Talon and all, I almost _expect_ you to get distracted drooling over Lana... but dishing me for Lex?" she asked with an expression of distaste "We're talking here, or I am, anyway..."

"You're right Chloe, I'm sorry..." he conceded, telling himself he could always stop by the castle later; Lex was probably busy now, anyway "What were we talking about again?" he asked with a sheepish expression, realizing he must have zoned out very early in the conversation, because he had _no idea_ what she had been talking about. Probably wall-of-weirdness something or the other. 

Then Chloe was saying something back, but it passed him by, because Lana was now at Lex's table, and when Lex looked up to place an order his eyes met Clark's for an instant, and he smiled. Clark smiled back.

"What the hell?" Chloe exclaimed exasperated, turning around to find Lex talking to Lana "I knew she _had_ to be there! See, _this_ is what I was talking about..." she threw her hands in the air

"What? Lana?" he asked confused, turning his attention back to Chloe, who sat with an indignant look on her face

"Well, it applies to her in a way..." she sighed in resignation "We were talking about _Pete_, Clark! Remember Pete? Dark, cute, you've known him since you two were both in diapers?" 

"What about him?" he asked confused, his mind still elsewhere; then he got it "Oh, yeah..." Chloe had a crush on Pete these days, right? _That's_ probably what she was talking about! He was glad of course that her crush on _him_ was over and dealt with, but it annoyed the hell out of him when she started talking about Pete non-stop, like he was one of her girl friends or something. 

"Oh, yeah indeed..." she grinned, obviously satisfied that he had at least understood that much "C'mon, sympathize with me here Clark..." she demanded "You've been pinning over Lana for like, ever, you must be the _king_ of unrequited love, right?"

"How do you know Pete doesn't like you back, anyway?" he asked sincerely; he always asked her the same, hoping she would drop the subject, but she always pushed it on

"I _don't_ know it" she answered as if it were the most obvious reply in the world "But not all of us can be Clark Kents, wearing our hearts in our sleeves and a neon sign over our heads reading 'Lana Lang's love-sick puppy'" 

__

Oh, great. Now she was changing the subject to him and Lana, which was the usual occurrence whenever he pointed out that she should just talk to Pete. _Girls!_ She had even asked him to put in a good word for her with Pete, which was like, the dumbest thing ever, because Pete hung out with them all the time and he _knew_ Chloe pretty well already. 

"Point taken, back to Pete" he grinned; the thing about the neon sign _was_ funny "What do you see in him anyway? He was just your good friend two weeks ago, and now you're acting all weird and asking me to fish for, and I quote, "information regarding his appreciation of you", end of quote."

"Well, I don't know... I guess it's just the way of the world, you know... you have a friend, are comfortable with each other, care about each other, have a fluent communication, they make you laugh, listen to the stuff you have to say... then one day it hits you that they're really hot too, and maybe there's potential there for more than a platonic relationship... and suddenly it's like bang, realization strikes and the weirdness factor kicks in" she sighed "What do you see in Lana?"

"I don't know, she really pretty, and nice..." he said uncomfortably; he should have known this was coming, it always did, only now he had no way to escape the question

"She's really _pretty_?" she asked in disbelief "C'mon, Clark, I know you're a guy and I don't expect an overwhelming amount of sensitivity or anything, but you _have_ to be able to do better than that!"

Well, now that she had brought it up, what _did_ he like so much about Lana? She was pretty, everyone knew that, of course. She was nice, that was disreputable... annoyingly nice, at times. She was popular, of course, big factor there... only it shouldn't matter that much, right? She _was_ a little self-involved, alright a _lot_, but she had the right... _because she was popular?_

"I really don't know why I like her anymore..." he whispered, more to himself than to Chloe, but immediately realized his mistake when he looked up to find his friend in full reporter mode. _Oh-oh_. 

"Well, well... Clark Jerome Kent! Are you finally over Lana -my-parents-are-dead-but-at-least-I-got-this-cool-necklace- Lang?" she inquired with a disturbingly satisfied grin "Or better, are you willing to admit to the fact that it was just a childish whim, based only on her status as Smallville's beauty queen?"

"I don't know Chloe... maybe you're right" he sighed, confused; he had been so sure he wanted Lana, had wanted her since he had use of reason, but now he realized that they seriously had _nothing_ in common, she _was_ pretty boring and self-involved, and she wasn't even all _that_ pretty... 

"Well, who knew? Off with the sign then!" Chloe joked, for some reason looking very pleased with herself, but then grew serious again as she noticed the look he must have on his face "C'mon, Clark, it's all for the better... you know Lana, she'll probably die an old maiden surrounded by cats... you deserve better, someone who listens to what you say, someone who always makes time for you, makes you feel special..." she was saying, rather unsuccessfully trying to raise his spirits, when suddenly she stopped, put on a goofy smile and blushed... he then knew that Pete had walked into the Talon, which meant it was about time he left those two alone to work some things out. 

"I'm gonna leave you and Pete alone" he said as he stood up "You better talk to him... I'm feeling kind of down now anyway, so I won't be the best company... I'll just go say hello to Lex and head home..."

"Okay" she smiled anxiously, her voice breaking just a little "You're gonna be okay?"

"Yeah" he replied absently, his eyes already set on Lex, who was drinking his fiftieth mug of coffee as he wrote frantically at the bottom of the page he had just been reading "I'll go whine about it to Lex, maybe he can share what's bothering _him_ and we'll ruin each other's days" he joked, knowing that if someone could make him feel any better, it would be Lex; he always seemed to know what to say, and when not to say anything and just listen...

"Okay, later Clark..." 

"Later, Chlo..." he said as he turned and started walking towards Lex's table. He looked busy, scribbling like mad, and Clark had to wonder if it was a bad time, but then Lex looked up from his papers and, seeing Clark approach, smiled and closed the folder he had been working on without a second glance.

"Hey, Lex... are you busy?" he asked as he sat next to his friend, his _best friend_. He didn't really have to ask, Lex always had time for him...

"I'm never too busy for you, Clark..." Lex assured him, waving absently for Lana to bring some more coffee for the both of them, his eyes never leaving Clark; Lex always made him feel like he was the center of the room, no matter where they were, when it was actually Lex that everyone had to be looking at, because, seriously, _he_ was the interesting one.

"Good" he said satisfied "Then how about you tell me what's bothering you? You look tense..." 

"I'm always tense, Clark..." he snorted "I'm just worried that the mask is slipping, I can usually conceal it quite well..." he added amusedly

"Don't worry Lex, mask's good..." he assured Lex with a tolerant smile; sometimes Lex could be such a baby, trying to avoid talking about his problems "I can tell, though, so spill" 

"Long story. I'll tell you over a game of pool?" Lex offered, already standing up to leave, because he _knew_ Clark would follow; he always does "What is bothering _you_, anyway?" he asked casually as he threw some money on the table to pay his tab "You looked off just a minute ago"

"Yeah, I bet you'll laugh at this..." he chuckled, because suddenly it was funny that he had spent all that time playing Lana's lapdog, and it's not like he usually thinks much about her when he's with Lex anyway.

He barely noticed her as they brushed past her on their way out, and the curious glance she threw his way was lost on Clark, because he was explaining to Lex how Chloe's crush on Pete had made him realize he didn't like Lana anymore, and Lex was saying something funny about it been damn time already, and he was feeling much better already.


	2. 02

Thanks everyone who has commented on the first chapter, I really appreciate the praises, and the constructive critique can be certainly used :) I don't know if I'm going to screw everything up with this new chapter, so if it sucks too much just make a subtle gesture, and I'll take it off and pretend it never happened :P

****

II

He was bored at home, and there was nothing he could think of to pass his time in a more productive way. He had been at the Talon earlier that day, hanging out with Chloe after school, but after they had discussed thoroughly the Torch's latest edition –still her primary conversation topic, thank God- she had started going on and on about Pete –her second favorite topic these days- and he had _had_ to get out of there eventually.

He was happy she was happy, and it warmed his heart to see her so exited about something other than journalism and meteor-weirdness, but he could only sympathize with her up to a certain point. And he certainly didn't see all the things about Pete she kept on praising –which he reckoned was a good thing- so he couldn't really raise to the occasion; he could agree that Pete was a great guy, and funny and with well-set ideals, but he really couldn't help her with the Pete-is-so-gorgeous line of thought.

She really needed some girl friends to share that, but she probably wouldn't admit to been so silly about a boy to anyone but Clark, and only because she knew he wouldn't tell anyone. "I have a reputation to protect, Clark" she had said earlier that day "If I told a girl about this, the odds are well against me that it would turn into locker-room talk in less than thirty minutes, and we don't want that" she had chided him when he had confessed he lacked the excitement about the subject that was brought into the equation by the extra X chromosome.

And of course she was right; he had overheard girls talking amongst themselves a couple of times, and it had spooked him to realize how much girls shared –even when it was not theirs to share. "Ah, the mystery of the female mind" he had chuckled; "And men get ulcers and miserable lives because they don't talk about their feelings" Chloe had replied, but nonetheless had immediately agreed with him that she didn't want to be a part of _that_ circle either.

He still hung out with both her and Pete, but he had opted for a bit of distance these last couple of days. It was well over a week since Chloe and Pete had 'started negotiations', as Chloe had decided to call it. Right now it was very difficult to see either one or the other by themselves, and most of the time he just felt like a third wheel. Which he was. Of course, Chloe been Chloe she wasn't all smoochie or cheesy, at least not around people, but even if they were just sitting there and talking it still felt kind of like he was intruding.

He had been spending more and more time at Lex's lately, which was the only really good thing that had come out of this whole consecution of sudden changes of heart. After Pete and Chloe had decided to try and take their friendship to the next level, and he had realized he was in fact no longer infatuated with Lana, he had found himself with a lot of time in his hands, and only Lex to invest it in.

Lex was really great to hang out with, and nothing as serious as he publicly appeared to be; sometimes it just amazed Clark to see how silly Lex could get to be, given the proper incentive. Of course, most of the time and for most of the people, Lex was an adult, and a scary one at that; a daring and intelligent CEO who took no prisoners when it came business, a multibillionaire and, above all, a Luthor. Sometimes he just wished he could make people see how great Lex was, but it was useless, and he was just glad _he_ knew it.

Part of the reason he was so bored right now was that Lex was in Metropolis for an important meeting with his father regarding the takeover of Greyson & c.o. by Luthorcorp, and was not coming back for a couple of hours. Lex's work relationship with his father was as good as it ever was, and the older Luthor was, as far as he let on, proud of his son's performance. On the personal, however, matters had never been worse.

It was fair to say that what made Lionel proud of his son, also made him colder and more distant towards him. At the time been, Lex and Lionel were nothing other than business partners, and had no communication whatsoever other than work related meetings, and the eventual –and not always cherished- opportunity in which he called to Smallville to give his mostly hostile opinions on his son's choices in life –or lack there of. Like, right now, Lionel wanted Lex to get married and have children, so the continuance of the Luthor line would be assured.

Of course Lex didn't want to marry ("look where it has gotten me so far"), and most definitely did not want to father children. Which was logical, since he himself was just barely an adult, but of course he couldn't tell Lionel that, because then the old bastard would start going on and on about how weak Lex was, and how he had been wrong to think Lex could change and become the man he wanted him to be. Clark didn't really want Lex to become the man Lionel wanted him to be.

So here he was, bored out of his mind. He could have very well stayed at the Talon a little longer, since Lana had seemed to be pretty bored herself, and for some reason she had started opening up to him in the last week. His personal intake on this little phenomenon was that she had noticed he was not obsessed about her anymore, and felt more comfortable around him. Chloe, however, insisted on the hypothesis that Lana actually loved to have people following her every step like love-sick puppies, and she just wanted to reenroll Clark using all of her charms.

He didn't really think that theory was accurate, but even if it was, he didn't really see what Lana's _charms_ were anymore. The reason he didn't hang out with her all that much was not that he was uncomfortable, but rather that she was pretty dense. Yep, the barn was definitely more fun than Lana... and it talked less about its dead parents, plus, the silence and loneliness here were almost as interesting as Lana's _other_ conversation topics... not that there were a lot of those.

He knew he was been mean, and he probably wouldn't admit it to anyone that he had been thinking about another human being in that fashion... well, maybe to Lex. Lex was never judgmental, which could probably be a hard-learnt lesson after been judged by virtually everyone he came in contact with –and many he hadn't even set eyes on in his life. If only Lex were here he wouldn't be so bored...

"A truck for your thoughts" ...and there he was, learning against the railing of the loft, hands in pockets as he watched Clark

"Lex! Hey, you're back!" he jumped to his feet, his face brightening up at the sight of Lex's "How was Metropolis?"

"Boring..." Lex conceded, straightening up and heading for the couch "Dad was going through those 'paternal phases' when he just won't stop criticizing everything I do..." he sighed as he dropped unceremoniously in the place where Clark had been sitting "I brought you a souvenir"

"Really? Something pretty?" he asked, batting his eyelashes jokingly as he sat next to Lex

Lex snorted at his performance, then took something out of his coat pocket "Here" he said as he placed the heavy object in Clark's open hand

"It's an ashtray" Clark noticed "I don't smoke..." he said confusedly, but then Lex took it again from his hand and turned it around, revealing the Luthorcorp logo engraved in the underside

"Neither does my father, but what matters is the gesture..." Lex explained seriously "I have to confess Clark, the initial idea was to hit him with it, but then I realized I am better than that, so I just kept it"

"You stole an ashtray to prove you're a better man?" Clark chuckled at the concept, although he understood exactly what Lex meant, and that's precisely why he needed a distraction "I'll treasure it forever, Lex..." he swore with a feigned girly voice, holding it to his chest tightly

"God, Clark, you sound like Lana Lang" Lex exclaimed in mock indignation "You keep that up and I'll go find your father and ask him to shoot me... at least someone will have a good day after all"

"You say it like been Lana is a bad thing" he frowned, trying to sound as serious as he could, but at Lex's incredulous stare he couldn't hold it together and started laughing uncontrollably "Sucker..." he managed to utter

"You think you're so funny?" Lex asked, pretending to be offended "Give me back my ashtray!" he demanded

Of course Clark wouldn't give it, so Lex made a grab for it; but Clark wouldn't let go, insisting that the ashtray was a gift and couldn't be taken back, and they both started pulling the object in opposite directions, neither of them wanting to let go. The day was finally looking up.


End file.
